abc 7 news reporter martha raddatz is traveling with the defense secretary le leon panea in italy tonight. >> reporter: secretary panetta says the u.s. will take all necessary steps to deal with the crisis. >> by all indications this is a terrorist act and the united states strongly condemns these kinds of terrorist acts. it is a very serious matter when americans are taken hostage along with others. >> reporter: it all began when 20 armed islamic militants believed to be affiliated with al-qaeda approached a group of oil workers. the attackers were reportedly heavily armed, driving in three he unmarked vehicles. the oil workers were on a bus headed to a nearby airport. there was a fight security forces for the workers battled back. when the smoke cleared, at least one foreign worker was dead, others wounded. the terrorists then headed to the compound where the gas refinery workers live. while it is unclear how many foreign workers they seized, sources say it could be as many as 15-20. along with the americans, there are british, norwegian, french and japanese workers, too. the attackers